1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a software-based tool for tracking changes in a directory server. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tracking tool wherein change information is sent from a directory server to different ones of plural multicast groups based on the nature of the change, such that the change information is obtained by registered members of the multicast group.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a network computing environment, on-line directories such as a directory of printers have been an important tool for locating and organizing information. The directories are commonly contained on directory servers wherein a user accesses the server via a directory protocol, such as LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) or NDAP (Novell Directory Access Protocol), to find information contained within the directory structure.
Information contained within the directory structure is often modified. For example, information within the directory structure is often added to, deleted from, changed or searched. To administer systems remotely, system administrators have a need to track such changes, so that their information on the system is current. Conventionally, administrators track changes occurring in the directory server by maintaining a direct network connection with the directory server at all times. When a change is made in the directory server, the administrator is notified of the change via his connection.
However, administrators often track changes for multiple directory servers simultaneously. Accordingly, the administrator must maintain a connection with all of the directory servers in order to obtain the change information from each server. As a result, the administrator's resources are tied up in server connections, thereby reducing the administrator's resource utilization efficiency.
Accordingly, what is needed is a directory server tracking tool that allows administrators to track changes made in directory servers without needlessly monopolizing network resources.